


All of the leaves on all of the trees are falling with me

by sailingthecs



Series: No matter where life takes us [3]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, Its pumpkin time baby, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-29
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2021-01-08 05:47:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21230792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sailingthecs/pseuds/sailingthecs
Summary: Pumpkin carving is an event in the Diaz household.





	All of the leaves on all of the trees are falling with me

**Author's Note:**

> Title from The Fall Song by Bridgit Mendler

Eddie stared in disbelief at his husband and his son. Were they crazy? Did he need to check them for some kind of injury?

Buck and Christopher beamed back at him, undaunted by Eddie’s clear disapproval. “C’mon Eddie, it’s not that hard!”

Eddie shook his head. “Not that hard? You want me to pull 300 lbs in a wagon by myself? I’m glad you think I’m that strong but it’s not going to work.”

Christopher was giggling uncontrollably. “Daddy, I know you’re Batman! You can totally pull the wagon.”

“Yeah, c’mon Batman, just give us a wagon ride!” Buck smirked at him over Christopher’s head, _clearly_ enjoying goading him. He could tell that Buck knew exactly what he was saying, using their son’s hero worship of his fathers against him. 

When Eddie had turned around to pay for the pumpkin patch entry, he’d expected to _maybe_ have to pull Chris in the wagon, not both his son and his husband. He definitely should have known better though, because his husband had the mental maturity of a child. 

Eddie narrowed his eyes at his boys. Buck had Christopher’s crutches in one hand as he used the other to stabilize Christopher and keep their son tucked against his body. Slowly, Eddie picked up the handle to the wagon, and gently tipped the wagon backwards. 

Buck’s eyes widened dramatically as he pretended to grab Christopher for support. “Chris! Your dad is going to tip me out! It’s been nice to know you, please cry at my funeral!”

Eddie snickered as Buck pulled his legs out from under Christopher and rolled sideways out of the wagon, sprawling on the ground like a dead body.

“Daddy! Look at what you’ve done. Papa can’t come pick pumpkins with us now!” Christopher’s giggling was contagious, and Eddie ducked his head to hide a grin at the scene in front of him. 

Without opening his eyes, Buck reached up and grabbed Christopher’s wrist. “Remember me, son. Remember the lessons I have taught you.”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “C’mon Papa, let’s go find ourselves a pumpkin for the front porch.”

Buck rolled over and popped up, brushing loose leaves out of his hair. He switched out Christopher’s crutches for Christopher, and gently threw their son over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “What do you think, Christopher? Should we find the biggest pumpkin in the whole patch? I bet there’s one that you would fit inside!”

Following his boys and grudgingly pulling the wagon, Eddie surveyed the closest pumpkins. He and Buck had decided they would only get one pumpkin, because they wanted Christopher to be able to do as much as he wanted to do, but it wouldn’t leave the two of them with three unfinished jack-o-lanterns when he got tired. It had been Buck’s idea, and Eddie would be lying if he said he didn’t fall for his husband all over again when he put Christopher’s needs first. Now that they were here, Eddie could see the main problem would be keeping Buck and Christopher from buying the single largest pumpkin in the patch. 

Speaking of, Eddie turned his head at Buck and Christopher’s matching cries of delight. “Daddy! You have to come see this pumpkin!”

Leaving the wagon in a safe place, Eddie walked over to see that his boys had actually found a pumpkin that Christopher would fit in. The poor thing was totally lopsided, and Buck kept trying to seat Christopher on the tall side, only for him to slide down it. Pausing briefly to take a short video of his family, Eddie stepped up and caught Christopher just as he slid down it again. 

Christopher was gasping with laughter, and it took him a moment to put on a serious enough face to tell Eddie, “This pumpkin is a playground, Daddy. I think we need it.”

“I don’t know, mijo… I think our porch is smaller than this pumpkin. And when we carve it, you won’t be able to slide on it or it could collapse.”

Christopher thought about this for a moment. “Then I don’t think we should get this pumpkin. We need one that will have a good face.”

Eddie kissed the side of Christopher’s head and said, “I agree. The carving is the best part.” He glanced around and realized all of the sudden that Buck had disappeared. “Do you know where your Papa has gone off to?”

“I am the spirit of Halloween, give me your candy or suffer the consequences!” Turning, Christopher and Eddie found Buck sticking halfway out of a scarecrow, where he had forced his head through its neck. Buck was clearly trying to make his voice sound low and spooky, but all he sounded was strained. That in combination with the straw in his hair completely ruined the effect. 

Eddie and Christopher just stared at Buck. “What? Not scary?” he asked with a pout. His only answer was the quiet giggles Christopher tried to hide in Eddie’s shoulder.

“Sorry honey, but I think you need to work on your delivery before you can scare any kids this Halloween.” Christopher started wiggling in Eddie’s arms, attention on something else in the pumpkin patch, so Eddie let him down and handed him his crutches from the wagon. Eddie started to turn to look after him, but he was distracted by the groan Buck made as he tried to pull his head out of the scarecrow. 

“Why did I think this was a good idea?” Buck whined. Eddie watched in smug amusement as Buck finally pulled his head out of the scarecrow, causing its head to come unattached from its body. 

Eddie took pity on his husband and started picking the straw out of Buck’s hair while Buck tried to reattach the head. “I don’t know honey, I don’t even know how you got your head through the body of this thing.”

Buck grinned proudly. “It’s because I have a hard head.”

Eddie sighed. “You say that like it’s a good thing, querido.” Leaning in, he brushed a quick kiss to Buck’s shoulder. “Although I suppose I have to be thankful for your hard head, considering how many times you’ve escaped without a concussion.”

Buck waggled his eyebrows playfully at his husband. “My noggin isn’t the only hard-“ 

Much to Eddie’s relief, Christopher called for them before Buck could finish his sentence. Eddie mouthed at his husband, "_Noggin? In public?_ "

Buck put on his best puppy face, obviously attempting to play innocent. Eddie brandished a finger in Buck’s direction, before he turned to look at Christopher.  
Grinning from ear to ear, Christopher was waving a crutch at them. “I found it, dads! I found our pumpkin.”

Walking over, Eddie found Christopher standing next another lopsided pumpkin, although this one wasn’t tall enough to be used as a slide. It had a gnarled stem, and a few extra lumps and knobs. 

“Are you sure about this one, Chris? The shape is going to make it hard to carve.”

Christopher nodded very seriously. “No one will want it, Dad, because it looks funny. We need to give it a home because no one else will.” 

Eddie’s heart broke at hearing the certainty in Christopher’s voice. His son was only nine, but kids could be so cruel and Eddie tried to protect him-

Before Eddie could formulate an appropriate response, Buck came up from behind and lifted the pumpkin easily into his arms. “What do you think, Chris? You think we can carve a Superman symbol into this bad boy?”

Christopher beamed, pleased with the immediate and enthusiastic response from his papa. Eddie felt relief wash over him that Christopher wasn’t upset by his question and that his spirits weren’t dampened. Moments like these made Eddie glad to have a partner again, who could be Christopher’s cheerleader and could help sooth his fears and reassure him. He was glad his partner was Buck in particular, who could make things better with only his puppy-like enthusiasm and love.

In a show of strength that made Eddie’s mouth a little dry, Buck tucked the pumpkin under one arm and picked up Christopher under the other. He turned and headed towards the shed where they could pay for their prize, throwing a charming little grin over his shoulder as Eddie followed.

Letting Christopher down to inspect the decorations outside, Eddie and Buck stepped into the darkness of the shed to pay. Placing their pumpkin on the scale, Buck leaned over to Eddie. “You have to take either the kid or the pumpkin on the way back.”

Eddie smirked down at his wallet as he pulled out some cash. “Not as strong as you want the kid to believe, huh?”

Buck scowled playfully at Eddie. “I would just hate to drop our prize pumpkin or our prize child!”

“Uh-huh. You know you could just make the child walk himself to the car?”

“Where’s the fun in that? The whole reason I work out is to carry my son wherever he wants.”

Eddie shook his head. “Yeah, and you like the way the ladies look at you when we go out on calls.”

Buck gasped and put his hands over his heart. “Christopher! Your father is being mean to me! I need you to protect me!” Buck spun on his heels dramatically and left the shed in search of Christopher, throwing one last pout over his shoulder. 

Rolling his eyes fondly, Eddie thanked the lady and grabbed their pumpkin. Stepping out of the shed, he placed the pumpkin in their wagon and shielded his eyes against the bright afternoon sun. He finally spotted his boys getting cups of cider from the little girl they’d seen selling by the parking lot on their way in. Christopher was talking to her animatedly, while Buck was trying to subtly slip money in her tip jar. 

Buck glanced up and met Eddie’s eyes before turning back to Christopher. After a minute’s discussion, Buck took both of their cups of cider while Christopher got his crutches and started for the car. 

After loading the pumpkin, Eddie slid into the front seat and grinned into the rearview mirror when he saw that Buck was sitting in the back with Christopher. His eyes met Buck’s in the mirror, and he felt warm from the fall sunshine and his boys. He rolled down the windows to let in the fresh autumn air and turned up the radio at Chris’ request. 

Christopher wanted to start carving immediately once they got home, state of the table be damned, but Buck distracted him while Eddie set up the supplies by asking him for help choosing songs for a Halloween playlist for them to carve to. Eddie made a note to himself to show Buck some appreciation later, for the distraction but also because the Halloween music would be a welcome change from the ever-present Frozen soundtrack they had been playing recently.

Eddie was spreading the final newspaper on the table for carving when Buck ducked out of Christopher’s room, a pleased smile on his face. At Eddie’s questioning look, he held up a washable marker for marking faces with. Handing it off to Chris, Buck sat down next to him, absently presenting his cheek to Eddie for a kiss. 

More than happy to oblige, Eddie pressed a kiss to his husband’s cheek and lingered for a moment, breathing in the scent of hay, leaves and Buck’s mango shampoo. Standing, Eddie leaned his arm on Buck’s shoulder and surveyed the pumpkin. 

“What’s the plan, little man?” he asked Christopher. 

His son screwed up his face in concentration. “I think… I think I want to do like a three headed dog!”

Amused, Eddie asked, “You mean Cerberus?”

Christopher nodded vigorously. “Yeah. Because he has three heads and only one body, and we have three people in our family but only one pumpkin.”  
Eddie was struck all over again by how thoughtful his kid could be. Out of the corner of his eye, Eddie could see Buck making his “trying not to lose it because that was sweet” face and nodding in agreement to Christopher’s plan. 

After making Christopher promise that he would always let Buck or Eddie help him with the knife, the three of them carved the top off and started to scoop the guts out. Unsurprisingly, before the pumpkin was half empty, Christopher got tired of the scraping. He was perfectly happy to sort seeds out of the goop however, and Buck found himself alone finishing the insides while Eddie and Christopher got distracted picking out the perfect spices for roasting.

Eddie caught Buck shaking his head fondly at them, and asked, “What? You have an opinion on the spices?”

Buck grinned down at the pumpkin as he splattered the last little bit of guts on the newspaper. “Nah, I know Abuela gave you that recipe, I trust that woman with my life.” Finally, he stepped back, and gestured grandly at the pumpkin, declaring it ready for faces.

Per Christopher’s instructions, each of them drew their own face on the pumpkin, and Eddie was assigned the duty of cutting them out. Christopher, his actual child, watched the entire process with wide eyes. It was Eddie’s wonderful, predictable husband who was the one to fall asleep at the table. Exchanging grins, Eddie and Christopher silently agreed to let Buck sleep, because he’d finished a 48 hour shift the day before but had insisted he could still do the pumpkin patch and carving. 

Finally, Eddie had the faces carved to Christopher’s satisfaction. Smiling in anticipation of setting the pumpkin out, Christopher headed for the front porch and left Eddie to nudge a slightly drooling Buck awake. 

Laughing softly at his husband’s groan at finding himself face down on the kitchen table, Eddie dug through the cabinet for the electric candles they had gotten for the pumpkin. He turned around just in time to see a sliver of Buck’s toned stomach as he stretched. 

Buck smirked at the look on his face. “Eddie Diaz, do you want a piece of this?” 

Eddie grinned. “Evan Diaz, I think I do.”

Buck opened his mouth to retort before a yawn stopped him. Eddie grinned at Buck, and held a hand out to pull him up from the table. “C’mon querido, I think we should save the fun stuff for later, and get this pumpkin set up before you officially fall asleep.” 

Grabbing the candles and opening the front door for Buck with the pumpkin and Christopher to follow behind, Eddie stepped out into the cool October air. The sun had set a while ago, and there was a slightly chilly breeze rustling leaves somewhere. 

Buck set the pumpkin down on the porch and leaned out of the way as Christopher turned the candles on and set them up gently inside the pumpkin. Placing the lid on and stepping back, Christopher beamed. 

“It’s looking pretty good, dads.”

Eddie nodded in agreement, leaning his head back against Buck’s shoulder when his husband wrapped an arm around his waist.

They stood there for another moment while Eddie snapped a few pictures of their three-faced pumpkin glowing in the dark. 

“We can leave it on tonight, right Daddy?” Christopher asked.

“Yeah bud. We bought enough batteries we can leave it on every night until Halloween.”

Nodding approvingly, Christopher grinned up at his papa when Buck yawned widely again and hid his face in Eddie’s neck. 

“Okay, bedtime for boys! We’ve all had busy day today and I don’t want to carry anyone to bed tonight.” Eddie poked at Buck to get him moving from his almost asleep position against Eddie’s back. 

Christopher headed inside immediately like the good kid he was, while Buck lingered, and pressed a quick kiss to Eddie’s cheek.

“Happy Halloween, babe.” 

Glancing back at their family pumpkin one more time, Eddie thought privately it was going to be a happy Halloween for sure.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Happy Halloween <3


End file.
